Gleason Hardware LLC has provided its customers with
many services over its forty-five years in business. It all
started back in 1970 when Richard and Gaylon Horn, natives of
Sharon, moved back to Weakley County from Chicago so that their
three children could go to school in a smaller hometown environment.

The Hornís took on partner Bert Estes, and in 1970 they began
stocking the 103 South Cedar building which had previously housed a small florist. The building was closed up, so they
made a few modifications, including the addition of windows.
Their stock included Whirlpool appliances, RCA televisions,
hardware, bicycles, guns, some Christmas items, and even toys since
there were no big toy stores around. They not only sold items, but serviced
them as well.

They opened their doors April 1, 1971. Their first customer was Lucy Sanders who actually came in
before the store officially opened because she wanted to be the first
customer! They also had a drawing for a brand new dishwasher that
Charles Anderson won.

After two years, their partner Bert Estes decided to
get out of the business, so the Hornís became the sole proprietors.
The present building that houses the store was originally four
different buildings that the Hornís acquired over a period
of a few years and converted them to suit their needs.

They bought
the two J.D. Dellinger buildings, which had previously housed sweet potatoes,
and turned it into their lawn mower shop where lawnmowers and
tillers were sold and serviced by Thomas Burke. They also used it for
television repair and storage.

The last building they assimilated
was the Frank Margrave building which had no roof when they got it.
After fixing it up, they used it as the showroom for their appliances
and furniture until 2000.

The Margrave building still exists as the
fabrication shop for heating and cooling ductwork, while the
Dellinger buildings have since been torn down and replaced with a new
block building used as a warehouse.

Presently, they are down to selling hardware and
heating and cooling systems. Gleason Hardware LLC started installing
heating and cooling systems in 1973 and still does to this day. This
makes up a large portion of their business. They have installed
countless systems in homes, hospitals, churches, banks, office
buildings, and restaurants.

Gleason Hardware has also contributed to the
community by sponsoring many
sports teams over the years: Little League baseball, softball, and
even a bowling team.

Mr. Richard Horn passed away on January 12, 2015, and
his sons Steve and Tom stepped in to take over the heating and
cooling portion of the business.

Mrs. Gaylon still runs the office
and hardware parts of the store, except on Saturday when her grandson
Jake Horn comes instead of her for the day.

The Hornís of Gleason
Hardware have loved making so many connections over the years. They have had plenty of good customers and kept lots of them Ė a
testament to their hard work and devotion to their customers (Story
by Ben Rollins).